On a poster in the dispatch area of Con-way’s Salt Lake City service center is a handwritten announcement: March 14, 2014, is a day for celebration. The service center, among the largest in Con-way’s nationwide less-than-truckload network, has gone 15 days without accident or injury.Technology has played a major role in the success at this and other locations for Con-way which has a total fleet size of 15,000 drivers and 8,600 tractors.

Trucking. It’s complex, highly technological, and essential to the nation’s economy. That was the theme of Phil Byrd, chairman of American Trucking Associations and president and CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express, speaking Tuesday at ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council’s 2014 Annual Meeting. Byrd said while some people may think trucking is as simple as getting a truck and some freight and taking it from one place to another, “transportation and logistics and trucking is anything but simple. It’s a complicated and complex industry. I would submit to you that our businesses from a technological standpoint far exceeds those of the customers we serve.”

“Staying connected” is more than a modern convenience; it is a way of life, a habit, an expectation for people that own smartphones and tablet devices. In the transportation industry, connectivity has traditionally been extended to drivers for business purposes only. Commercial and private fleets would install onboard computing and mobile communication systems to track location, send and receive messages, and capture performance and maintenance information from vehicles.

The transportation industry is a very broad, diverse group of companies and individuals that collectively keep America moving. With all of the time and effort it takes to keep those wheels turning on the highway, the amount of traffic that goes online would seem to pale in comparison. The opposite appears to be true. The online community for news, blogs and social media in trucking has exploded. To help make sense of where all of the online traffic is headed, GE Capital’s Transportation Finance recently commissioned a year-long study.

Goodyear has announced the four finalists for its annual Highway Hero award to be presented during the Mid-America Trucking Show in March. Talk about an impressive group. Professional truckers Brian Dunn of Knoxville, Tenn., Tim Horton of Sheridan, Ark., Scott Rosenberg of Isanti, Mich., and Ivan Vasovic of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., are the four finalists. And they are all deserving of recognition.